Fantasy Premier League managers face crucial choices heading into Gameweek 8, with selection dilemmas surrounding captaincy options, key midfield injuries, and emerging defensive targets. Writing for BBC Sport, fantasy expert Holly Shand evaluated the top choices for managers looking to optimize their squads ahead of the upcoming fixtures.
Captaincy Dilemma: Haaland vs Chelsea Alternatives
Enzo Maresca confirmed that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (£13.7m) is fit to start against Aston Villa on Saturday, having remained an unused substitute in City’s 5-1 Champions League victory over AEK Athens. Haaland stands as a top captaincy contender with eight goals from seven league matches this season, though he has failed to score in his last four Premier League appearances against Aston Villa.
Alternative captaincy options are headlined by Chelsea attackers. Joao Pedro (£7.9m) offers strong fantasy output with five goals and three assists so far, while Cole Palmer (£9.7m) provides a higher scoring ceiling due to his penalty-taking duties.
Midfield Options to Replace Saka and Injury Victims
Injury problems continue to disrupt popular midfield picks after Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (£9.6m) sustained a quadriceps injury in the Champions League on Wednesday. He joins Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.8m) and City’s Antoine Semenyo (£8.3m) on the long-term sideline.
With Semenyo ruled out, rotation concerns in Manchester City’s midfield may ease. Rayan Cherki (£8m) is currently attracting the most transfer activity, but Phil Foden (£6.8m) impressed after scoring a midweek hat-trick, and Jeremy Doku (£7.5m) has recorded three goal involvements in his last three games.
Investing in Brighton and DefCon Defenders
Brighton assets remain highly valuable, with the team scoring a league-leading 23 goals while conceding a league-low five. Three of the top five players in FPL belong to Brighton: out-of-position defender Maxim de Cuyper (£5.3m), who leads the overall game with five goal involvements in seven matches; midfielder Pascal Gross (£6.2m), who takes penalties and leads with nine goal involvements; and centre-back Luka Vuskovic (£5.1m). Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen (£4.6m) and forward Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.7m) also rank among the top three in their positions.
Shand advises starting both De Cuyper and Gross even away at Anfield, noting that Liverpool have yet to win a home league game this season, scoring twice and conceding five goals. Gross ranks high in underlying statistics, standing second overall for key passes with 19 and big chances created with six.
For defensive contribution (DefCon) points, Vuskovic is a primary target after securing bonus points in four of Brighton’s five clean sheets while creating four big chances. Leeds United defender Tarik Muharemovic (£5m) has also achieved DefCon points on four occasions and registered his second assist of the season last time out. Coventry City’s Bobby Thomas (£4m) leads all defenders with 84 defensive contributions and 10 shots in the penalty box.
Holding Josko Gvardiol
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol delivered one goal, two clean sheets, and three assists in his first five games, but he frustrated fantasy owners after being benched against Liverpool and Ipswich Town in Gameweeks 6 and 7. However, with reports that Nico O’Reilly is suffering from a back issue, Gvardiol could be in line for a run of starts, making him worth holding unless managers have multiple spare transfers and no other roster issues.
Source: BBC Sport
